Long-term unemployed: Layabouts or victims of a cruel economy?

10:53 PM,
Feb. 10, 2014

David Hupke outside his home in Lacey .

Written by

Lisa Chambers will turn 30 this year, but she admits she may not want much of a celebration for her milestone birthday. Last year, she had to move from her apartment in Toms River to her parents' house in Howell because she could no longer afford her rent.

She hasn't had steady full-time work since October 2012, when she was laid off from her job as an assistant manager in the Zumiez clothing store in Monmouth Mall.

"The worst thing is I feel stuck," Chambers said. "I can't progress, I feel like a child, living at home, not having funds to do things, having no social life because of it. I see friends ...